Eleanor's Wish
by misterbubblesishere
Summary: All she's ever wanted to do was see the sun.


**Inspired by Sunlight by 14112 on AO3: /works/359697**

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Ever since she was little, all she's wanted to do was see the sun.

She's wanted to feel its light as it warmed her skin, bathing her in its yellow glow. To feel the crisp air around her as she breathed it in, listening to the birds chirping herself, not through the words of her mother, who had sounded so disinterested when she had spoken of them. To feel the grass, real and green and growing from the earth, beneath her bare feet. To look up at the blue, endless expanse of the sky and just lay down in the grass, watching the clouds as they drifted lazily across the sky, sometimes making funny shapes for her to try and make out.

She's wanted to watch the sky as it turned from a dull gray to a bright explosion of bright orange, yellow, and blue, all mixed together on one massive canvas for everyone to see as the sun rose, shining its beautiful light on the world. She's wanted to watch it set, painting the world in various shades of orange and pink and dark blue. She's wanted to watch as the night sky settled over everyone, the stars coming out from their hiding places in the sky and forming constellations that she could trace.

She's wanted to stroll through the woods, admiring the massive trees towering above her, and marvel at the beauty of nature on the surface. To smell the air around her, to breathe it as freely as she never had in Rapture. To simply _observe_ the magnificence of the surface that she saw everywhere she turned.

She's wanted to watch the animals as they scurried about, going to unfinished business and such. She's wanted to watch the squirrels storing their nuts for the winter, the birds coming back for the spring but leaving before the cold chill of winter settles in. The fish, as they swim in their ponds and their streams, not a care in the world. She's wanted to watch them all as they go about their business, her just an observer to the wonderful world of the surface and they the workers.

She's wanted to experience _seasons,_ those wonderful times of the year when things _change,_ not all at once, but slowly; so slowly you could almost miss it-but she's never wanted to.

She's wanted to see it all; in winter, when the snow has fallen from the sky and has decided to stick to the ground in large amounts, granting children a day off from school. The crisp, cold air as it bites at her nose and ears, making her face numb while she plays in the snow with them, making snow angels and building snowmen. She's wanted to head inside after a tiring day of playing outside and sit by the fire as she sips at some hot cocoa while reading a book, not a care in the world beside the occasional getting up to refill her cup.

She's wanted to feel the fresh breath of spring, the way the air smells of flowers and grass and dirt everywhere she turns. She's wanted to watch as the bigger animals woke up from their season-long slumber and begin to move around again; she's wanted to listen to the birds sing as they come back for the spring, no longer driven away by winter's cold chill. She's wanted to look at all of the plants as they slowly came back to life, a delightful sight after they have been gone for so long.

She's wanted to feel summer's sweltering heat on her skin, the sun's usually calm and warm glow suddenly turning into a fiery torch of heat. She's wanted to dip her toes in the water to cool off, the cold, chilly water the perfect relief for the blistering heat of the summer sun. She's wanted to sip an icy glass of lemonade as she sits underneath a bit of shade, observing how other people spend their summers; in the water, playing outside, or just relaxing like her.

She's wanted to relish in the air of autumn, the sun's rays once again calm and inviting as the leaves fall from the trees, their magnificent colors of red, yellow, green, and brown all coming together to make something beautiful, something as wonderful and fresh as everything else on the surface that she has yet to experience, but wants so very badly to. She's wanted to stroll through the park, simply admiring the season for the beauty that it is. She's wanted to relish in that feeling, the feeling that something so wonderful could exist in a world her mother had thought doomed. It would be no doubt dampened by the feeling that soon, once again, winter would be upon them, and although she would love to once again see the snow, she would certainly miss the bright colors of this particular season.

She's wanted for so long, and she's tired of waiting.

But right here, right now, when she's finally done it, finally seen the sun, felt the warmth of it on her face, all she wants to do is _stand._ Stand, and revel in the fact that she's _here,_ she's made it out of that hellhole, and she'll never have to go back. Revel in the fact that she now knows what sunlight feels like, she knows how it feels to breathe the surface air. She knows these things now-and so many more things are to come, things she's wanted all of her life. But as she stands, looking over the calm sea as the only parent she's ever known lies dead at her side a few feet away, as she stands surrounded by ex-Little Sisters, looking to her for guidance, she sighs.

 _Seeing the world will have to wait a little while longer,_ Eleanor thinks to herself. _I have business to take care of first._


End file.
